A major war is potentially about to break out according to George Friedman, the founder of Geopolitical Futures. Rather alarmingly the geopolitical analyst claims that the US is about to strike North Korea, and he may be correct given a recent transcript of a telephone call between President Donald Trump and Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte.
Friedman, speaking at the 2017 Strategic Investment Conference in Orlando, stated that while it is unlikely the US will take action before President Trump returns home this weekend, North Korea’s actions appear to have “offered the US no alternative” to a clash.
In addition to the claims by Friedman, according to Geopolitical Futures analysis, the evidence is mounting that the enmity between the two is escalating to a point where war is inevitable. Friedman also stated that the USS Carl Vinson supercarrier was joined off the Korean peninsula by the USS Ronald Reagan.
Similarities are being drawn between the maneuvers made by the US just before Desert Storm in 1991 and what the US is currently doing in the region, the tell tale sign was that more than 100 F16 aircraft are conducting daily exercises in the area. F35 aircraft have also been deployed to the area, and US government representatives will be briefing Guam on civil defense, terrorism, and Korea on May 31.
According to Friedman;
Problems with any conflict are myriad. The 25 million people of the Seoul metropolitan area lie in reach of what Friedman called a “stunning mass of [North Korean] artillery.” Any strike on North Korea would likely result in a retributive attack on Seoul.
“We cannot afford the kind of casualties this will create,” Friedman warned, adding that the US needs to neutralize the artillery by strategic bombardment.
A second problem for the US is that any conflict will necessarily rely on imperfect intelligence, and the impact of incorrect information could take a devastating human toll.
Interestingly enough, Friedman may just be right. According to a recent transcript leaked by the Intercept of a phone call between President Donald Trump and Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, the only card left before a conflict is China. If China fails to quell the hermit state, Trump will take action. Donald Trump also noted that the US has two submarines in the region as well as the Nuclear card is not off the table, and that he too is concerned about the people of South Korea.